Michael J. Crowe

A History of Vector Analysis: The Evolution of the Idea of a Vectorial System - Dover Books on Mathema 1.4tics Michael J. Crowe Reprint edition

The first large-scale study of the development of vectorial systems, awarded a special prize for excellence in 1992 from France?s prestigious Jean Scott Foundation. Traces the rise of the vector concept from the discovery of complex numbers through the systems of hypercomplex numbers created by Hamilton and Grassmann to the final acceptance around 1910 of the modern system of vector analysis. Concentrates on vector addition and subtraction, the forms of vector multiplication, vector division (in those systems where it occurs), and the specification of vector types.